The Name of the Game
by Danya Lionheart
Summary: Short songfic. MM/AD. Read & Review!


The Name of the Game  
  
Danya Lionheart  
  
A/N: This is short song fic, based on Abba's song: The Name of the Game. Pairing is MM/AD and rating PG. And all belongs to J.K. Rowling. Read & Review, please?  
  
***  
  
I was so excited! I had just gotten a letter from the new Hogwarts head master, Albus Dumbledore, asking me if I would take a job as the Transfiguration teacher. Of course I accepted it. One of my greatest dreams was to teach, because I loved children.  
  
Now I have been here for two weeks, and almost every day I meet Dumbledore. We usually speak of something typical, like the weather or the students, and gradually I have started to enjoy those conversations. Somehow, I am beginning to trust him. And that's a miracle. I, Minerva McGonagall, the boring, strict Transfiguration professor, am beginning to trust somebody.  
  
I have always been shy and afraid to show my real feelings. "Trusting" is not a word that is usually associated with me. I have generally felt uncomfortable with people. But he is different. He makes me laugh, and I want tell him freely about my feelings.  
  
I've seen you twice  
  
In a short time  
  
Only a week since we started  
  
It seems to me  
  
For every time  
  
I'm getting more open-hearted.  
  
I know that I am hard to reach. Nobody can see through this mask of strictness and formality. It is my shelter. Behind that shelter, I can watch the world, and the world can't see the real me...the feeling, crying, laughingand hurt Minerva McGonagall.  
  
I don't usually trust people, but he makes me trust him. I want to know more things about him; his thoughts and feelings.  
  
Without knowing it myself, I have fallen in love with him.  
  
But I really want to know what is going on. Does he love me? What does he think about me? What if....?  
  
I was an impossible case  
  
No one could ever reach me  
  
But I think I can see in your  
  
face  
  
There's a lot you can teach me  
  
So I wanna know.  
  
What's the name of the game  
  
Does it mean anything to you  
  
What's the name of the game  
  
Can you feel it the way I do  
  
This is the first time that I've ever felt something growing inside my heart. The first time that I ever realized that I wanted to share my heart with someone. A certain someone; Albus Dumbledore. I need to know what he thinks about me.  
  
Tell me please  
  
'Cause I have to know  
  
I'm a bashful child  
  
Beginning to grow  
  
Only he can take off my mask. Only he can make me laugh, talk, feel and even cry. It's scary somehow. Because I'm afraid that eventually he'll find out my deficiencies and leave me. I don't want that. Will he let me down? I need someone to trust. It's just so hard to tell him that I care. I don't want destroy our friendship. I only need to know.  
  
And you make me talk  
  
And you make me feel  
  
And you make me show  
  
What I'm trying to conceal  
  
If I trust in you  
  
Would you let me down  
  
Would you laugh at me  
  
If I say I care for you  
  
Could you feel the same way too  
  
I wanna know  
  
What's the name of the game  
  
He has just invited me for a talk, and maybe a few cups of tea. It's all new for me. I have never had any friends; I have always managed by myself. But here I am, talking to him, face to face.  
  
I have no friends  
  
No one to see  
  
And I am never invited  
  
Now I am here  
  
Talking to you  
  
No wonder I get excited  
  
He is looking at me the way he always does, as if he can see right through my heart and read my thoughts. And his smile. I just look at him, listening to the sound of his voice. He asks me something, and I answer him. I don't know what I said, but it doesn't matter. I just hope that I will be brave enough to tell him about what really matters. My feelings.  
  
Your smile  
  
And the sound of your voice  
  
And the way you  
  
See through me  
  
Got a feeling  
  
You gimme no choice  
  
But it means a lot to me  
  
So I wanna know  
  
What's the name of the game  
  
Does it mean anything to you  
  
What's the name of the game  
  
Can you feel it the way I do  
  
He smiles at me again. If only I could know what he thinks about me! I now know clearly my feelings towards him: love and friendship. Still, fear speaks in my head. What if he hates me? What if he loves another? What if...?But this is not the time for "ifs".  
  
I finally gather my courage to ask him "The Question". I start slowly:  
  
"Albus? I have to admit something. For some time now, I have had feelings for you. I don't know if you hate me now, but I love you Albus Dumbledore!"  
  
I am waiting for the worst. Much to my surprise, he doesn't laugh at me. His smile only grows and he answers me. Not with words, but with a kiss.  
  
And I kiss him back. I have never felt more wonderful than I do now, resting my head on his chest and listening to the comforting words he speaks to me.  
  
I know now that I have finally found a love, a man who can see through my mask to the real me. He didn't run away as I had feared he would. I have finally found a home.  
  
Tell me please  
  
'Cause I have to know  
  
I'm a bashful child  
  
Beginning to grow  
  
And you make me talk  
  
And you make me feel  
  
And you make me show  
  
What I'm trying to conceal  
  
If I trust in you  
  
Would you let me down  
  
Would you laugh at me  
  
If I say I care for you  
  
Could you feel the same way too  
  
I wanna know  
  
What's the name of the game 


End file.
